Ukraine drone strikes prompt Russian tech firms to move data centers underground

Russian technology firms are rapidly working to relocate and secure their data centers underground after Ukrainian drone attacks damaged facilities that house AI supercomputers and disrupted cloud services for millions of Russian users. In response, the Kremlin has mandated that data center owners reserve computing capacity for emergency state needs and has authorized the possible use of foreign data centers.

These measures come amid a broader context of Russian military activity, which has bombarded Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles almost continuously in recent months and has specifically targeted Ukrainian data centers since late September. Ukraine, in turn, has struck back with drone attacks on Russian military and infrastructure targets, degrading or knocking out data centers operated by Yandex, Sberbank, VKontakte, and the Ministry of Finance.

State‑owned telecommunications company Rostelcom has reportedly discussed moving some Russian data centers underground with nickel and palladium mining company Norilsk, as reported by Vedomosti. Additionally, Data Center Dynamics cited a proposal by a Russian regional governor to construct data centers inside open‑pit coal mines, with green public parks planted above as camouflage.